The term Freemason can be traced back as far as 1375 A.D., and possibly as early as 1155 A.D., where it was used by a traveling guild of masons who shared a secret code. It wasn’t until the earth 17th century that they began accepting non-operative members as ‘masons’ and introducing them to their secrets and symbols. By 1717 A.D. this group had developed into the fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons.
The origin of the free- part of Freemason is a matter of considerable debate amongst Freemasons and historians. It has been suggested as a corruption of the French word frère, meaning brother, as in frèremaçon (a “brother mason”). However, other authorities contend that the name is due to the fact that the masons worked on free standing stones. Another theory suggests that they were freemasons as they were not under the control of local guilds.
The word mason derives from the French maçon (Latin matio or machio), meaning “a builder of walls” or “a stone-cutter”.
Originally a Freemason was a mason of superior skill, but later it was used to describe a mason who had the freedom of a trade guild. Thus Freemasons were skilled artisans, free from the restrictions and control of local guilds, who could travel and perform their trade for such this as the building of cathedrals and other grand structures. These Freemasons developed a system of secret signs and passwords to aid recognition of each other, and thereby give evidence of their competency and skill.
Since about 1750 A.D. the word Freemasonry has been universally and exclusively applied to the fraternal body of men who trace their institution back to the founding of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717 A.D. The official craft rituals defined Freemasonry as “A peculiar system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols”. Albert Mackey, in his Symbolism of Freemasonry (1869) gives the definition of Freemasonry as “a science which is engaged in the search after the divine truth.” The German Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, defines Freemasonry as “the activity of closely united men who, employing symbolical forms borrowed principally from the mason’s trade and from architecture, work for the welfare of mankind, striving morally to ennoble themselves and others and thereby to bring about a universal league of mankind, which they aspire to exhibit even now on a small scale”.
thank you! is there any christian freemasonry existing?
Hi Earl. Many Freemasons in European countries are Christian. Most of the symbolism in Freemasonry derives from Biblical stories and mythology. While there are many Christian anti-masonic groups and people, Masonry itself is very much influenced by Christian mythology and morality.